Robert Griffin III's knee took an unnatural turn as he tried to pick up a low snap in the fourth quarter of the Redskins' loss.

Photo: Matt Slocum, Associated Press

Robert Griffin III's knee took an unnatural turn as he tried to...

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LANDOVER, MD - JANUARY 06: Robert Griffin III #10 of the Washington Redskins is injured on a bad snap in the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks during the NFC Wild Card Playoff Game at FedExField on January 6, 2013 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Photo: Al Bello, Getty Images

LANDOVER, MD - JANUARY 06: Robert Griffin III #10 of the...

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Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan watches the action on the field during the first half of an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Landover, Md., Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013.

Photo: AP

Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan watches the action on...

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Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III sits on the bench after being injured during an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Landover, Md., Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The Seahawks defeated the Redskins 24-14. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Seattle's Russell Wilson is the last rookie quarterback standing, and we almost mean literally. After the Colts' Andrew Luck kept getting hit and his timing thrown off by the Ravens' blitzes, the Redskins' Robert Griffin III was knocked out of Sunday's second game.

Griffin came into the game with an injured right knee, one he hurt against Baltimore four weeks ago and one on which he has been wearing a bulky brace since then. It was clear from the outset Sunday that Griffin was having a hard time moving, but the Redskins jumped to a 14-0 lead.

Griffin started taking more and more hits and was moving gingerly, but Washington head coach Mike Shanahan left him in the game. That shouldn't come as too big a surprise because a Sunday USA Today report revealed that Shanahan had lied about doctors clearing Griffin in that Baltimore game. (More on that in a bit.)

Shanahan, 1-5 in the playoffs with quarterbacks not named John Elway, left in Griffin on Sunday until his knee buckled. It actually bent the wrong way when he tried to pick up a low snap midway through the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks recovered the ball, leading to a game-icing field goal in their 24-14 wild-card win, but few Washington fans cared. Griffin was down holding his knee. He finally limped off the field as a FedEx Field crowd of 84,325 held its breath.

We don't know the specifics of Griffin's injury, but Shanahan was quick to pass the buck, saying that staying in the game was the rookie quarterback's call. He said Griffin told him he "was hurt, not injured" - "He gave me the right answers," Shanahan said.

Maybe they were the wrong questions. Maybe there shouldn't have been any questions.

Shanahan also said that if the team didn't think it was in Griffin's "best interest" to be in the game, then "I can promise you" he wouldn't have been in it.

"It's a very tough decision," Shanahan said of keeping Griffin on the field. "You have to go with your gut and I did."

Griffin came to the podium next and also said it was his call, but then he said something that probably made Shanahan and the team's media handlers wince more than Griffin had an hour earlier.

"I think I did put myself at more risk by being out there," Griffin said. "That's just the approach I had to take. My teammates needed me out there."

That doesn't sound like a decision that is in the player's best interest. Neither does letting Griffin back in the game against Baltimore after a serious-looking hit to his knee. Shanahan, remember, said doctors cleared him.

Nope.

Griffin "didn't even let us look at him," Dr. James Andrews told USA Today. "He came off the field, walked through the sidelines, circled back through the players, and took off back to the field. It wasn't our opinion. We didn't even get to touch him or talk to him. Scared the hell out of me."

(Andrews, the renowned knee specialist, is also the sideline doctor for the Redskins.)

Shanahan is a master at spinning things, as he will this, but shortsighted Redskins fans might want to know why he stopped running the ball Sunday. Alfred Morris had 11 carries for 60 yards in the first half and five carries for 20 yards in the second half.

OK, that's enough Redskins talk, because it takes away from another impressive effort by Pete Carroll's upstart Seattle bunch. The Seahawks scored 24 unanswered points to earn a date in Atlanta with the Falcons next Sunday, and the Falcons are worried.

Seattle might be the most balanced team in the league, offensively, defensively and special teams-ively. The Seahawks outgained the Redskins 371-74 yards in the final three quarters.

Wilson overcame being sacked five times to complete 15 of 26 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for 67 yards. Cal alum Marshawn Lynch stampeded 20 times for 132 rushing yards to tie the Seahawks' single-game postseason record (held by Shaun Alexander).

On the series before Griffin re-injured his knee for good, Lynch scored on a 27-yard touchdown run behind a 5-foot-10, 206-pound lead blocker named Russell Wilson.

"That wasn't part of the play, but Marshawn always tells me, 'Russ, I've got your back,' and I let him know that I always have his back, too," said Wilson, whose team became the third in NFL history to win a postseason game in which it trailed by 14 or more points at the end of the first quarter.

"He's doing a great job for us, and he's a tremendous runner, and I'm just trying to help him."

The rookie quarterback on the other side of the field could have used some help, but Shanahan lost sight of that as he kept looking at the scoreboard.